Post navigation

Amazon.com has been continually upping the ante on how quickly and conveniently it can get people their orders through an array of last-mile logistics innovations. But a new delivery option sounds like it could strike some as a little too convenient for comfort.

Amazon is exploring the idea of offering in-home deliveries, that is, having delivery people place items in the home of the customer when not in the residence, Engadget reported. Amazon is looking to facilitate this through a partnership with a smart locks company and an IoT garage door company.

Such a setup could benefit those who live in buildings without vestibules and cannot receive packages at work, and so are either constantly missing deliveries during the day or unable to order from Amazon entirely. But the potential privacy concerns are quite obvious. The model would require allowing a stranger into residences unsupervised. The imagination reels.

Amazon.com has been continually upping the ante on how quickly and conveniently it can get people their orders through an array of last-mile logistics innovations. But a new delivery option sounds like it could strike some as a little too convenient for comfort.

Amazon is exploring the idea of offering in-home deliveries, that is, having delivery people place items in the home of the customer when not in the residence, Engadget reported. Amazon is looking to facilitate this through a partnership with a smart locks company and an IoT garage door company.

Such a setup could benefit those who live in buildings without vestibules and cannot receive packages at work, and so are either constantly missing deliveries during the day or unable to order from Amazon entirely. But the potential privacy concerns are quite obvious. The model would require allowing a stranger into residences unsupervised. The imagination reels.

There is also a concern that a hacker could steal data from one of the parties involved in facilitating the in-home deliveries, which would grant a third-party access to the house. Even without the added concern of data sharing between Amazon and other companies, smart locks have problems of their own. At this year’s Def Con hacker convention, as reported in Dark Reading, a researcher characterized 75% of the smart locks he investigated as easily compromised.

Amazon.com has been continually upping the ante on how quickly and conveniently it can get people their orders through an array of last-mile logistics innovations. But a new delivery option sounds like it could strike some as a little too convenient for comfort.

Amazon is exploring the idea of offering in-home deliveries, that is, having delivery people place items in the home of the customer when not in the residence, Engadget reported. Amazon is looking to facilitate this through a partnership with a smart locks company and an IoT garage door company.

Such a setup could benefit those who live in buildings without vestibules and cannot receive packages at work, and so are either constantly missing deliveries during the day or unable to order from Amazon entirely. But the potential privacy concerns are quite obvious. The model would require allowing a stranger into residences unsupervised. The imagination reels.

There is also a concern that a hacker could steal data from one of the parties involved in facilitating the in-home deliveries, which would grant a third-party access to the house. Even without the added concern of data sharing between Amazon and other companies, smart locks have problems of their own. At this year’s Def Con hacker convention, as reported in Dark Reading, a researcher characterized 75% of the smart locks he investigated as easily compromised.

In an online discussion last week, the industry insiders considered the viability of the plan.

“I completely believe that this is a concept that could see wide adoption,” said Shawn Harris, N.A. retail and hospitality lead at Zebra Technologies. “Airbnb has helped in resetting the idea of what personal space means and blockchain technology will allow for secure, immutable, one-time access to home IoT locks. Delivery person tracking and home tracking (cameras, mobile device and presence sensors) will play an over-the-top role for auditing behavior. Insurance will cover the rest.”

“Sharing homes and apartments is the new normal and, for myself and many others, Amazon deliverers are not a significant security threat,” said William Hogben, CEO of FutureProof Retail. “Sure, there will be some crimes that can be connected to Amazon’s in-home delivery, but that’s what insurance is for.”

Others displayed more skepticism.

“There are already security concerns around IoT, and adding strangers with physical access to the mix seems prone to problems,” said Cathy Hotka, principal at Cathy Hotka and Associates. “I’d predict only niche adoption.”

“It’s hard to believe this is real,” said Ken Lonyai, digital innovation strategist and co-founder of Screenplay InterActive. “If so, there are always some that will accept it. However, it’s just a bad idea on so many fronts.”

“My reaction is: You want me to do what?” said Steve Montgomery, president of B2B Solutions. “While there may be some very trusting people out there, I doubt that there are enough to make this concept account for even a small portion of Amazon deliveries.”

And one BrainTrust member noted significant practical concerns for the model.

“For my household, this is a complete and utter non-starter,” said Doug Garnett, founder and CEO of Atomic Direct. “Why? Common sense. My wife doesn’t hear a knock, so a delivery guy enters my home to put the package on the table. She comes out of the shower and is surprised by them in our home. It ain’t gonna happen.”